Menendez On Putin Op-Ed: 'I Almost Wanted To Vomit'

When Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) first got an e-mail Wednesday night about an op-ed Russian President Vladimir Putin published in the New York Times, it nearly made him sick to his stomach at dinner.

"I almost wanted to vomit," Menendez told CNN. "I worry when someone who came up through the KGB tells us what is in our national interests, and what is not. It really raises the question of how serious the Russian proposal is."

Putin's op-ed challenged the idea of "American exceptionalism," referencing President Barack Obama's Tuesday address to the nation regarding Syria, to urge opposition to military intervention there.

Menendez added that the United States should follow through on negotiations with Russia aimed at getting Syria to place its chemical weapons under international control, saying "it would be foolish to slam the door on diplomacy."